Located on the Goodnight-Loving Trail, the town was
named after Oliver Loving. The town itself was once a part of the Lost Valley
Loving Ranch. In 1910 the Gulf, Texas and Western Railroad arrived and the local
population moved to the tracks. There are conflicting accounts on exactly where
the original town was located.

The
Trinity Townsite Company sold lots and laid out the new town. In the 1930s Loving
had a school, bank, and several churches. From a 1940 population of 350, it declined
to 240 by 1980 and remained there for the 1990 census. By 2000 it had increased
to 300.